Tuesday, May 18, 2010

BEIJING – They were members of a modern-day swingers' club in China, where people met online and then gathered in homes or hotels for group sex parties involving dozens of men and women.

Last month, Ma Yaohai, a 53-year-old college professor and 21 others went on trial in the southeastern city of Nanjing, accused of "group licentiousness" — the first time anyone has been charged under a 1997 law in a case that has snagged huge public interest with its titillating details.

But aside from rampant curiosity in the swinger lifestyle, the uproar also has touched off a deeper debate about sexual freedom in a nation that is trying to reshape its own modern morality.

Ma said his decision to join the swingers was voluntary. "Marriage is like water. You have to drink it. Swinging is like a cup of wine. You can drink it if you like. If you don't like it, don't drink it," he said in interviews with Chinese media.